AutoWeek looks at SEMA 2000

DUTCH MANDEL AND MARK VAUGHN

You are what you drive, but when you look over to the next lane and see your very car, you know you're not that guy.

What is an enthusiast to do? Add flair.

You do it with the clothes on your back. Instead of choosing a Garanimals coordinating tie to go with that three-button suit, you pick one up from Pinks that makes the difference. It sets you off. It reflects your personality.

That's what the Specialty Equipment Market Association show is all about. It brings together customizers -- automotive tailors, if you will -- who can make your car reflect who you are.

You might be a 600-horsepower Corvette or a Woody Wagon PT Cruiser. It doesn't matter what you want; there's a SEMA member who can turn your car into your power tie for the street.

There are over 4450 members of SEMA, more than 1300 of whom are showing what they've got at this week's show.

Unfortunately, SEMA is only open to those who work within the car world -- so allow us to take you there in the pages of AutoWeek.

Space, taste and time prevent us from showing you every car, truck or sport/ute on display. Space, taste and time prevent us from showing you every wing, valance or tuned wheel. Space, taste and time even prevent us from showing you some of the goop, lights and MoonEyes at SEMA.

We will, however, do what space, taste and _time allow. Enjoy these pages of just a few SEMA show cars. Understand there are more -- many more. If you happen to be cyber savvy, click on to autoweek.com to catch our roving report from the show floor. And who knows? You might just see that automotive wardrobe of your dreams.

Ford Made In Detroit Focus: Focusing attention on a car, a style and a generation

By DUTCH MANDEL

Not long ago, bragging that something was "made in Detroit" held with it a supreme aura. The boast that something had been born and bred in Motown, home of the world's biggest automakers, amounted to a claim of solidity and quality-particularly as Japanese cars and trucks first began to make their way into U.S. showrooms and driveways.

Of course, there was also a time when "made in Detroit" became code for oversize gas guzzlers festooned with chrome, built to exacting standards of planned obsolescence.

How times change. With this one-off special Focus, Ford is angling that a new generation will look to a "made in Detroit" car as hip and with-it.

But this Made In Detroit tag has nothing to do with its origin, though it comes from Motown. Made In Detroit is a clothing line, and Ford's boast is in an affiliation with fashions that appeal to 20-somethings the world over. Ford design vice president J Mays calls the clothing "underground grunge street wear. When you turn up in Berlin or in L.A. at a rave club, everyone is wearing this stuff," Mays says. "When you see this clothing line, you get what is attractive with it. Were I 20 years old, I would wear this."

Who better to partner with than a terminally hip (at this moment) clothes maker for the younger generation? This Focus has been created for this week's Specialty Equipment Market Association convention and it is meant only to show one direction in which Focus could go. It does not mark the beginning of Made In Detroit-branded cars from Ford. What it does mark is a car whose origins are in Europe but that has been given a distinct American flavor.

Each year, SEMA organizers identify an honored manufacturer, and this year is Ford's turn on the podium. The spotlight shines on whichever company is getting its turn... and that firm also earns the right to raise the product bar. Ford chose a different tack this year: The Made In Detroit Focus is one of just two vehicles (the other is a lowered sport/ute dubbed Urban Explorer) created in-house, though there are many tuned and tweaked Blue Oval cars and trucks.

"One of the things we're doing with SEMA this year is to not try to come in as a big, ugly corporation and squash the little suppliers," Mays says. "We're cutting down on the number of concepts we are doing and we have chosen to go with what [farmed-out customizations] others have done."

Fortunately for showgoers, Ford kept its fingers in the pie with this Focus, a car penned by Steve Parks, an Australian, who gave it more "edge" than retro appeal. Question: Is there not an enthusiast among us who doesn't see in this panel van something akin to the mid-'80s-era hot Honda Civic hatchback?

Based on a three-door Focus ZX3, its look is urban industrial chic, especially with its mineral gray coat. The colors, materials and textures come from the Made In Detroit clothing palette. This concept has a more upright rear hatch and a flatter top than the stock car, which provides increased interior space and interior storage nooks. It also boasts a new roof and tailgate. Says Mays about the feasibility of a production build: "It wouldn't be that difficult to do. When you see it, it's irresistible. It even has wide flares like the Focus R we did."

Ford lowered the suspension, added 18-inch wheels with vented discs at all corners and threw on a tuned exhaust system-virtually all of which are de rigueur SEMA touches. There were no motor mods to its stock 2.0-liter dohc Zetec I4 that pumps out 130 horsepower and 135 lb-ft of torque.

It boasts uniquely designed front and rear lighting, anodized aluminum finishes and reflective, molded Focus and Made In Detroit badging.

This Focus' interior, too, has been modified. Storage compartments are tucked into the floor and tailgate. There are also two detachable integrated "messenger bags" that fit to each of the Focus' inside panels that can be removed for use at school, office, the beach or to go "clubbing" with friends.

(Old guy alert: This "messenger bag" feature makes us ask whether Ford knows something we don't about the trendy nature of being a messenger, or whether we don't get it because we don't get it.) This Focus also has an integrated first-aid kit that presumably can be used after "clubbing."

"This was an idea we came up with about three years ago," Mays says. "Just after the Focus had come out, one of the designers came to us with a design for a panel van." Like a lot of projects, this one got pushed to the back until the time was ripe. SEMA-and the gravitation toward Focus by the Y-Generation who look to it as a hip, trendy and hot rod-able car-makes that timing ripe.

"With almost half of today's Focus buyers being 35 years old and younger, our strategy is to continue to find ways to make the vehicle attractive to the younger generation," Mays says. "The Made In Detroit Focus concept provides yet another possibility.

"There's a lot that can be done with this platform, a lot of different directions we can go with it," Mays says. "We've got about two or three more directions with Focus. It does sound like corporate stuff, but we do have to gauge customer reaction. That's how Blackwood started. That's the best way to do cars, for me, because you can get right to the pure emotion of the vehicle."

You can bet on it being at the Los Angeles show in January. Even money says it'll go over big in the tuner-centric L.A. area; it's been a long time since an automobile proclaiming "made in Detroit" played well on the West Coast.

PT Recaro: When a couple of big boys try their hands at tuning

By MARK VAUGHN

Indirectly, you can blame this hotted-up PT Cruiser on the folks at DaimlerChrysler. Either blame them or give them credit.

First, some history. A few years ago, DaimlerChrysler, as with other automakers, made a course correction in the way it did business: It delegated responsibility to top suppliers to invest, design, develop, test and manufacture "components," essentially moving these capital investments to their suppliers. Those suppliers who wanted to stay in business set about re-creating themselves. They invested in design studios. They conducted consumer clinics. They began production facilities.

Good suppliers won business. But this new expertise taught suppliers another valuable skill set, too: It was possible to market directly to buyers.

To this add the frenzy that DaimlerChrysler created with its retro-styled PT Cruiser.

So here we have two successful auto suppliers, Johnson Controls and ASC, collaborating on customizing a PT Cruiser. Though the SEMA convention floor is caked with mom 'n' pop tuners, this Cruiser, dubbed PT Recaro, shows that customizing creativity dwells in corporate corridors.

Not only that, but this Cruiser comes with something few others can build: a rational business case to put these mods on the road.

The PT Recaro gets its name from the well-known racing seats now marketed by Johnson Controls, which is a manufacturer of many interior car and truck trim pieces. Johnson Controls (which is also the major sponsor on Paul Gentilozzi's Trans-Am Jaguar) massaged this PT Recaro's interior, while its exterior work is credited to ASC, a longtime modifier of cars.

This PT Recaro features Recaro leather-trimmed seats with seat-mounted backpacks. The center stack instrument cluster is finished in brushed nickel, while door panels and steering wheel get a leather workout. An integrated cargo management system, called CargoMax, is also included. Johnson Controls has made an optional Onkyo premium sound system available if the project should see light of day.

Not surprisingly, Recaro badging finds it way to floor and cargo mats, as well as the grille, front fenders and rear door. Obviously, subtlety might have to be baked into the business case.

ASC did its handiwork by including new side ground-effect valances and stylized front and rear fascias with running lights. To this, add 17-inch wheels, Eibach suspension and an optional Borla exhaust package.

So what will this package cost consumers? Nothing, for now. It depends on response generated at SEMA and other public displays as to whether or not it gets built. If Johnson Controls and ASC wanted to get into this customizing business, a limited-edition production line could be up and running for this car perhaps as early as the next SEMA show. And a car not too dissimilar from this could be in your hands for the cost of a PT Cruiser plus $3,750.

Five years ago, Toyota noticed it had this cool motorsports and performance parts division down in Tustin, California. At about the same time, some of the execs realized the average age of Toyota buyers was approaching somewhere near 108.

Soon, one of the execs connected the cool performance parts division to the notion of pulling in younger buyers and whammo, great things happened. Toyota Racing Development (the cool performance parts division) began cranking out speed kits for Celicas, Supras and even 4Runners and Camrys. The kits were available through Toyota dealers and came with a full warranty. Suddenly, Toyota looked like a fun carmaker, instead of just a reliable and customer-satisfaction-driven carmaker.

Now, Lexus has gotten in on the act. Slowly but surely Lexus is unveiling its TRD-tweaked performance line, dubbed L-Tuned.

We first saw a Lexus L-Tuned product at SEMA's International Auto Salon in Pomona last spring (AW, April 17). There Lexus showed off its L-Tuned GS 400 with an aero body kit, formidable wheels and tires and a nicely tweaked suspension. Parts for the GS began shipping to dealers and customers about six weeks ago. Now we get the first look at another L-Tuned project, the IS 300.

"TRD in Japan has been working on this for a while and we had to see how much of the stuff from the 2.0-liter Altezza [the IS 300's home-market version] would fit on this one," said TRD sales and marketing manager Gary Reed. "Turns out, not much."

So, much of what is on this prototype was developed here in the United States. That includes "appearance effects" like the front fascia, side skirts, color-keyed grille and rear spoiler.

We tested more than cosmetics. There are 18-inch wheels and tires, custom brake pads with slotted rotors, a front member brace (connecting the lower suspension pick-up points to stiffen the chassis), stiffer shocks, springs and front and rear antiroll bars and a performance exhaust. There are no tweaks to the IS 300's standard 3.0-liter straight six. But that will change.

"On our list of things to do is a supercharger," said Reed, though the supercharger is still 10 to 12 months away.

Just as the GS 400, as well as the 300 and 430, had inherent performance attributes that lent themselves to aftermarket manipulation, so too does the IS 300 cry out for a little hot rodding. The comparisons between the IS and the BMW 3 Series were loud and clear at the car's introduction, and the street appeal of the production IS 300 is very strong among very young buyers. So a car like this should succeed at bringing those youthful customers into the Lexus fold. Once in, they won't be disappointed.

The L-Tuned IS takes a fun car and makes it more fun. A large and talented tuning house like TRD has engineers running around all over the place, and TRD has access to all those Toyota engineers in Japan, too. The advantage is that a TRD part is not likely to break.

This is the same outfit that makes Juan Montoya's CART motors, as well as Rod Millen's Pikes Peak powerplants and Ivan Stewart's off-road engines. So it knows performance.

Approval of an L-Tuned IS 300 is expected soon, with kits available from TRD (www.trdusa.com) beginning this month. Whichever version Lexus approves will come with the same warranty as the car to which it is attached-four years or 48,000 miles.

"We do the program similar to the sport parts program," said Reed. "All parts are warrantied, the dealer orders the parts just as they would any other Toyota part."

Reed acknowledges that the IS 300 is relatively tame compared to what it could be, but notes that the car still has to be a Lexus.

"The springs, shocks, wheels and tires, all that stuff increases noise, vibration and harshness," he said. "NVH is so anti-Lexus and by doing this you increase that."

But maybe what Lexus needs to succeed in a future of younger buyers is something that is more anti-Lexus.

AEM Honda Civic Si: The new hot rod

By MARK VAUGHN

The Honda Civic is so popular that you could argue it is the new 1932 Ford roadster and the kids who drive Civics are the new hot rodders. There are certainly at least as many aftermarket Civic parts as there were for the '32s.

A recent report from SEMA says the compact performance car market, which is headed by the Civic, accounted for $756 million in business in 1999. But just as it was for their forebears, getting the right combination of properly engineered speed goodies makes all the difference. Find the right setup and suddenly shifting, steering and even winding through your daily commuter slog becomes an enjoyable experience. The key is finding the right combination.

All too often young speed enthusiasts buy their performance equipment one paycheck at a time. The order of purchase goes toward the cosmetic first (wheels, fake wings, etc.), then the aural (stereo, exhaust, or at least exhaust tip), then various suspension components in no particular order. That means a set of springs may come in one month, followed by a strut tower brace the next month and one new shock absorber per month thereafter. Poorly thought-out engine upgrades sometimes follow. The result is a setup that looks like it was engineered by the Iraqi parliament.

Here's where Advanced Engine Management comes in. AEM has a sizeable catalog of performance parts for sport compact cars like the Civic. The AEM Drag Civic driven by Stephan Papadakis holds the current front-wheel-drive world record in the quarter-mile at 8.711 seconds and 168.16 mph. So the company has some credibility. For more street-ready applications, AEM offers complete performance kits that can be purchased at the dealer when the car is new, with the cost of the add-ons worked into the vehicle financing. You get a well-engineered package that is financed in a reasonable way. Simple, yes?

So far AEM (www.aempower.com) offers the aftermarket parts package deal for the new Ford Focus, and it just finished up a run of the previous-generation Civic. A package for the new Civic is in the works right now and should be available by the end of December. Any warranty work that needs to be done can be handled at any of the nine Honda dealers (more coming) that participate in the program. There are also a handful of Ford dealers offering the Focus package, with more signing up all the time.

The AEM package on our car included engine modifications like a cold air induction system (basically a K&N intake filter and new intake runner that brings cooler air into the engine), a high-flow fuel rail, accessory pulleys that reduce drag on the engine by slowing the speed at which the accessories turn, and a cat-back exhaust. AEM provided dyno charts that show 5- to 10-lb-ft-torque increases and about 5 more horsepower across the rev range.

Suspension modifications included new springs and an adjustable rear sway bar, both made by Eibach to AEM specifications. Brakes are replaced with 12.1-inch discs in front and 11.1-inch discs rear with Nissin pads. Wheels are 17-inch Enkei alloys in this package with 205/40 Toyo Proxes FZ4 tires. Interestingly, the tires are not included in the package; AEM claims dealers can get better tire prices than it could, so you negotiate tires with the dealer.

The lack of performance shocks was not as noticeable on this smaller, lighter car as it was on the Eibach Maxima we had at the same time, but it would have been nice to have stiffer shocks and matching antiroll bars to go with the shorter springs. AEM says the cost of the shocks would have been too high, but we say, swap out the $1,884 brake kit for a much cheaper set of shocks and have at it. And have Eibach bend a couple of sway bars, too.

For its part, the brake kit tended to squeak during low-speed, parking-lot maneuvers, but stopped the car quickly (published figures show 134 feet from 60 mph, vs. 137 feet on a stock Civic Si).

All together, though, it works. The level of performance of every component was raised and made driving something to look forward to. Cornering was fun and the mild bounce in the ride made us feel like one of the kids who love these cars. The rhythmic, muffled brap from the exhaust as we shifted up through the gears was a pleasure to listen to and encouraged heel-and-toe downshifting just to hear the engine (though the pedals aren't as well placed as they could be).

A car this nicely engineered reminds us how much fun driving can be. And how inexpensive fun can be, too. Our package retailed for $3,941, but for the budget-minded we'd recommend going for the suspension kit alone, which costs just $442. If you want more, see the guy in finance.

Eibach Maxima Ste: La familia schprrring

By MARK VAUGHN

Forty-nine years ago in Finnentrop, in west-central Germany, Heinrich Eibach began winding his own custom springs.

At the time he concentrated on industrial springs for use on big mechanical presses. It wasn't for another 30 years that the Eibachs began turning automotive springs and, shortly afterward, springs for motorsports applications. It was then that the business really grew.

In the last 20 years, Eibach Springs (still owned and operated by the Eibach family, now into the third generation) has grown such a reputation for quality and performance that the family springs are not only mounted on production cars around the world, but ride under almost every kind of race car from F1 to Winston Cup.

They were on Mika Hakkinen's McLaren when he won the world championship in 1998, they were on the 1999 Le Mans-winning BMW, on Jean-Luis Schlesser's 2000 Paris-Dakar-Cairo-winning car, and they are on CART, IRL and World Rally cars, too. Not to mention mountain bikes, motorcycles and sprint cars. The Eibach customer list includes almost every race team of consequence on the planet.

Not quite everybody knows that, though. Hence, promotional vehicles like this one are necessary. The Eibach Maxima STe (Sport Tuned by Eibach) has four springs from the company's popular Pro-Kit series, sort of the entry-level, first-step springs for tuners. There are stiffer, shorter springs available, too. The Sportline springs are the next step, promising "race-car-like handling," and then there are the Drag-Launch and Road-Race kits as well, for more serious applications.

Our Pro-Kit was made for the 2000 Maxima (there are Eibach springs available for more than 1000 different production cars). It lowered the car 1.2 inch in front and 1.0 inch in the rear. Lowering is, in a large part, why most people buy springs for their cars. The cosmetic tweak fills in the "huge fender-well gap inherent from the factory," and makes the car look like a performer.

A lower car also has a lower center of gravity, reducing dive, squat and roll and thus improving performance all by itself. Our Maxima STe had other handling enhancements, too, like 235/40ZR Pirellis mounted on 18-inch OZ wheels. Unfortunately it also rode on the stock Nissan shocks, which, combined with the shorter, stiffer springs, meant less control than we would have expected.

The problem is there are no Eibach shock absorbers developed yet for the Maxima. Indeed, Eibach itself offers only about 20 sets of shocks in all. The cost of development is fairly large, and the number of customers who would buy them for the Maxima is prohibitive, says Eibach. Our Pro-Kit springs were $329 for the set of four. Shocks, once developed, would have retailed for about twice that. Likewise, there were no Eibach antiroll bars for this car.

This car had other tweaks, as well. The engine was turbocharged by Jim Wolf Technology, with a custom intercooler and a turbocharger that whooshed mightily as it reached its 300-horsepower peak. There was a custom CenterForce hydraulic clutch to handle the extra power, Remus exhaust and a grippy suede Momo wheel.

And the car got all the faux Stillen aerodynamic treatments the kids love, whether they slow down the vehicle or not. Cosmetics are important to aftermarket buyers, in many cases more so than the performance it is supposed to proclaim.